Tattoo and Wyrm
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.35 stars by RMaster007
Having run for at least five years by this point, NECA's TMNT toon line has been scraping a bit for figures. They've done one-shots, characters in outfits not from the show, and now characters who never appeared in the show at all. The other two-pack out now alongside the ghostly pair of Creepy Eddie and Shibano-Sama consists of both a one-shot and a character who was animated around the time the show ran, but didn't actually appear in the show. The one-shot here is Tattoo, who you may recognize from the OG toy line, but he showed up in "Planet of the Turtleoids," where rather than being a good guy, he was a more neutral character. Apparently, he went from being a hamster to a sumo wrestler because of Shredder and Krang, and all he wanted was to go back home… to his cage. I guess they...[See More]

Creepy Eddie and Shibano
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.60 stars by RMaster007
There's been a lot of NECA figures hitting shelves lately, partially thanks to the annual Haulathon event at Target. TMNT has a big presence during it like usual, but this year it's more focused on the Mirage line, with nowhere near as many toon figures as before. Still, the new toon stuff is what fans have been wanting for a while, including the much-requested Creepy Eddie. He was a one-shot character in the show, solely appearing in "Nightmare in the Lair," but he's still a memorable Freddy Kruger-esque villain. Eddie may not be as disturbing in appearance as his inspiration, but he still has a fitting design for a nightmare creature. His inhuman skin color, pointy nose and ears, and mismatched eyes make him a ghoulish-looking fellow, and Richard Force recreated him very well. It's not...[See More]

Shredder (Start Shredding the News)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
You think with how long NECA's TMNT toon line has been going on, they'd go back and reissue a few of the older figures, but nope, barely any of them got that treatment. I assume it has to do with the fact that they're Target exclusives, but still, they at least reissue the movie figures every now and then. NECA has gone a step above and upgraded some of the earlier figures, such as April and Slash, and Shredder now gets the 2.0 treatment. The box art is once again done by Aaron Hazouri, and the concept here is unique. Shredder's got himself a "Turtle Booers Club," with a couple of other villains as members (including Mr. Ogg; potential figure tease?). The text on the back, rather than a character description, is written through Shredder hosting another club meeting. It's pretty funny,...[See More]

Panda Khan (Crouching Panda, Hidden Turtles)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
The original TMNT cartoon has provided NECA with a lot of ideas for figures, including even the most deep-cut of characters. Around last year or so, they started putting characters in outfits that haven't appeared in the show, like Space Usagi and Samurai Michelangelo, but now they're including characters that haven't appeared in the show at all. Panda Khan is the first, and like Usagi, he's an indie comic character who found recognition through the 80s-90s TMNT toyline, and his creators are letting NECA do a "what-if" figure. Aaron Hazouri once again does the box art, and it matches both the old FHE tapes and the better-animated episodes of the cartoon ("Green with Jealousy" is a notable example). Panda Khan is wielding his sword, and the turtles are hiding in the bamboo, unsure if he...[See More]

Punk Leonardo and Punk Raphael
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.45 stars by RMaster007
A few months back, NECA and Target's Haulathon gave us a set of Ninja Turtles dressed up in clothes befitting late-80s teenagers in the city. Not the most exciting set, but it was a much-desired look for the brothers, and I liked how they turned out. It wasn't the only time they wore such outfits, and this new two-pack of Leonardo of Raphael depicts them in the punk disguises they had in "Enter the Shredder," as they were different from the Usagi Yojimbo episode. I guess that's why Donatello and Michelangelo received a set of unique outfits earlier this year. The main thing to note about this set before I get in-depth with it is that it's like 80% reused/repainted molds. Leo and Raph both have the same head sculpt, wearing shades instead of masks, and with big smiles on their faces. The...[See More]

Vacation Bebop / Vacation Rocksteady
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Adventures
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
Now that we're in September, summer is drawing to a close, bringing an end to hot weather and beach vacations and resuming school and college for many a young man. Despite this, NECA has been able to preserve the summer spirit for a bit longer with another release of Bebop and Rocksteady. They already filled their quota of the two for the year with an updated reissue of the standard two-pack, but now… remember when I talked about Colossus Napoleon and how I hoped the B&R outfits on the box art would become figures? Well, my wish has been granted! It seems like these guys get different sculptors whenever they get new figures now, and Tony Cipriano and Tomasz Rozejowski are responsible for them this time. While the heads Paul Harding did for the superhero versions matched the cartoon more...[See More]

Slash (Binky's Day Out)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
In the midst of all sorts of unique designs and characters, some of which are getting figures for the first time, NECA has gone back and updated a few familiar faces in the TMNT world, cartoon specifically. First they improved the turtles themselves, then they redid April, a character who much needed an upgrade, and most recently, Slash. The first toon Slash they did, coming packed with Leatherhead, was fine, but still rather flawed looking back on him. Now Slash is back by himself, and he's much easier to get ahold of this time around. We're now at "volume 18" of the toon Ultimates, and they continue to draw inspiration from the old FHE video tapes for box design. Slash's is a bit more unique, depicting him holding his old pet bowl, but with a shrunken Bebop and Rocksteady on the...[See More]

Casey Jones (Business Suit) & Foot Soldier (Split)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
NECA's TMNT line has notably seen a shift from doing just about everyone, both major and one-shot, to putting out a bunch of character variants at once. Not that that's a bad thing, as I've said before, variants are common in animated licenses, and the original cartoon has plenty of unique outfits, if not forms, for each character. That includes Casey Jones, a minor presence in the show compared to everything else TMNT, with his much-requested suit and tie from "Corporate Raiders from Dimension X." Since we've gotten Casey Jones already in the line, NECA could've just reused the head from the regular version for this specific look. But no, he has a newly-sculpted head provided by Tomasz Rozejowski. The mask is smaller and shaped better, with his ears being visible behind it, the eyeholes...[See More]

Chakahachi and Lotus
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.70 stars by RMaster007
Thought the only ninjas in New York were human-sized mutant turtles? Well, think again. Lotus Blossom was a character who only appeared in two episodes, but she left quite an impact, because you can't go wrong with ninja babes. However, the NECA two-pack featuring her proved hard for me to find, and I was finally able to find it hiding amongst some of the more recent releases, yet had to go out of town for it. I really wish NECA would give more specific sculpting credits, because there's three people credited here (Tony Cipriano, Tim Miller, and Kushwara Studios), and I'm not sure which one of them did Lotus. Whoever's responsible, the head sculpt is fine, though the eyes seem to be a bit too far apart. They designed her hair to flow back so it won't get in the way of the sheath, and the...[See More]

Leonardo Leads (Pizza Club)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.35 stars by RMaster007
Usually, it's important for toy companies to keep major characters on the shelves, but NECA hasn't been able to do that much with their TMNT toon line, mainly due to its limited distribution. Still, they've done plenty of versions of the main four turtles, giving newcomers an opportunity of jump in. Both the Turtles in Disguise and Style Guide four-packs were great, and I consider the latter to be the ideal Turtle set, but we got new "Pizza Club" releases of the same molds a few months back, and I think both longtime collectors and those just getting into the line will like them. Keeping up with the VHS throwbacks seen with the packages, these are based off the tapes that were given out as part of Burger King's Kids Club. There were four of those, and there are four of these; makes...[See More]